An intriguing compromise

Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, is sponsoring legislation that would give the financially strapped U.S. Postal Service the authority to declare 12 "mail holidays" a year. This bill deserves serious consideration.

HR 5919 is intended to reduce the Postal Service's costs. Twelve days a year — on days when mail volumes historically are at their lowest — the Postal Service could halt deliveries. This would appear to be a better option than eliminating 52 days of delivery, as some have proposed as part of an overhaul of the Postal Service. Chaffetz says it is unreasonable to eliminate Saturday deliveries prior to Christmas or Mother's Day. He's right.

While the Deseret News has strongly advocated significant reforms that enable the Postal Service to reduce billions of dollars of debt, Chaffetz is correct that simply eliminating Saturday deliveries would negatively affect commerce and customers who need deliveries of prescription medication or benefit checks. While many people receive their benefits electronically, some seniors still rely on the post office to deliver their pension checks.

Will this step alone solve the Postal Service's deficits, which are estimated to grow to $238 billion over the next 10 years? Probably not. One of the greatest challenges facing the Postal Service is the shift to online bill paying and e-mail. The speed and ease of using technology has cut deeply into mail volumes. Why go to the trouble of buying stamps and addressing envelopes when the department-store bill can be paid by the click of a mouse or details of a family reunion can be quickly squared away via e-mail?

The agency faces other financial challenges, such as paying health benefits for retired employees.

To address some of its financial losses, the agency has proposed an increase in postal rates. This, too, is but a partial fix.

The agency must continue to seek other efficiencies to contain its costs. Chaffetz also recommends consolidating postal facilities using a process similar to the Base Closure and Realignment Commission, which was used to shutter military installations. That is an intriguing idea.

While this page previously advocated eliminating one day of mail deliveries per week, Chaffetz says 52 days a week may be too drastic of a cut. He makes some good arguments to support his position.

We, too, have been concerned that a significant cut in delivery days could create a hardship for rural communities far from major routes of transportation. Residents of these areas do not enjoy a similar level of service options from private shippers available in urban areas. As such, they rely heavily on the Postal Service. Seemingly, 12 days of missed service would serve them better than 52. We hope other members of Congress will appreciate the need for a compromise position on this issue., 12 days of missed service would serve them better than 52. We hope other members of Congress will appreciate the need for a compromise position on this issue.